The sun hung low over the Eastern Sea, painting the water in molten amber and rose, the kind of light that turned every ripple into liquid fire. Awa'atlu breathed around you—marui pods swaying gently in their mangrove cradles, bioluminescent freckles beginning to wake on the roots as Eywa's evening pulse stirred.

You stood at the edge of the central platform, toes curling into the warm, salt-roughened wood, your tail flicking once in quiet anticipation. The Sully family had been here weeks now, long enough for the initial wariness to soften into cautious curiosity, but Neteyam still carried himself like someone walking on borrowed ground. Older now—taller, broader through the shoulders, the sharp edges of adolescence honed into something steady and sure—he moved with the quiet confidence of a hunter who knew exactly how much force a bowstring needed before it sang.

Tonowari had assigned you the task that morning: show the eldest Sully son the hidden paths of the reef, teach him the Metkayina way of breathing so he could dive longer, deeper, without the forest-born panic rising in his chest. Tsireya had done the same for Lo'ak, patient and teasing in equal measure, but Neteyam... Neteyam felt different. Not rebellious like his brother. Not curious in the wide-eyed way of Tuk. He watched everything with those golden eyes; careful, assessing, like he was memorizing the reef the way he'd once memorized escape routes in the trees back home.

He approached now from the far walkway, braid swaying against his back, the traditional Metkayina armband you'd helped tie earlier still fresh against his azure skin. The beads clicked softly with each step. He stopped a respectful distance away, dipping his head in greeting.

"I didn't keep you waiting long, did I?" His voice was warm, the Forest accent still curling around the words even after weeks of immersion. There was a small, almost sheepish smile tugging at one corner of his mouth—like he knew he was late but couldn't quite regret the extra minutes he'd spent checking on his siblings.